After the Arranged Marriage, I Was Pampered by the Powerful Tycoon - Chapter 14

Cheng Ruan rested his chin on his hand, staring out the floor-to-ceiling window in a daze, so distracted that he didn’t even notice when Luo Mingzhi had returned.

He hurriedly hid the photo in his hand behind his back, pretending to be chatting on his phone. Just as Luo Mingzhi was about to pass by him, he abruptly looked up and said, “Ah, you’re back!”

Seeing Luo Mingzhi’s expression, Cheng Ruan felt that his performance just now had been a bit too forced.

But on second thought, what else could he do? Were they supposed to live under the same roof like total strangers?

To him, that would be nothing short of torture.

Luo Mingzhi looked at Cheng Ruan, who was dressed in a hooded loungewear set, stopped in his tracks, and asked, “Did things go smoothly today?”

Realizing which matter Luo Mingzhi was referring to, Cheng Ruan nodded. “It went quite well. Actually, there was a bit of luck involved. The person Secretary Lu and I asked for directions just happened to be Teacher Sun Yiliang.”

At this thought, Cheng Ruan smugly brandished his phone and smiled. “Once President Cheng makes a move, you know the results are guaranteed.”

The words had barely left his mouth when the photo behind his back flew up with his movement, spun through the air, and drifted lightly down onto the wooden floor.

Luo Mingzhi naturally looked toward the two or three photos. Cursing his luck inwardly, Cheng Ruan scrambled to stand up and block Luo Mingzhi’s line of sight.

With a beaming smile, he said, “Mr. Luo has had a busy day, you should go rest.” While speaking, he peeked down at his feet—thankfully, only one photo was face up.

Thinking he was being subtle, Cheng Ruan stepped on the photo with his slipper.

Luo Mingzhi averted his gaze and said flatly, “You dropped something.”

Cheng Ruan clenched his fists and said loudly, “Look at me, so clumsy! Don’t worry about it, I’ll pick it up in a second.”

Ignoring the sycophantic smile on Cheng Ruan’s face, Luo Mingzhi took a direct step forward with his long legs toward him.

In that moment, Cheng Ruan felt like he could just close his eyes and wait for death, but he made a final struggle and shouted, “Luo Mingzhi!”

Luo Mingzhi stopped.

“What is it?” He looked at the hood of Cheng Ruan’s sweatshirt, which was flipped inside out behind his neck.

Completely unaware of where Luo Mingzhi was looking, Cheng Ruan blurted out in one breath, “I actually have something to tell you, regarding Teacher Sun.”

Luo Mingzhi reached out his hand. “Go ahead.”

Cheng Ruan used his slipper to nudge the photo back a few more inches. Simultaneously, he quick-wittedly grabbed Luo Mingzhi’s hand and gestured toward the sofa behind them. “Uh, let’s sit over there and talk.”

Cheng Ruan quickly scooped up the three photos from the floor, shoved them into his pocket, and sat down on the sofa facing Luo Mingzhi.

Luo Mingzhi was still wearing the raven-black suit from earlier that day. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on his high bridge, making his features appear even more profound and giving him an aura of a “refined rogue.”

Cheng Ruan couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you wearing glasses today?”

As soon as he asked, he felt he was being meddlesome. Whether Luo Mingzhi wore glasses or not, what did it have to do with him?

However, Luo Mingzhi answered quite seriously, “Wearing glasses makes me look less sharp.”

Less… sharp?

Cheng Ruan inexplicably thought of the man in the photo. So… Luo Mingzhi actually wanted to look a bit more gentlemanly when he went on his date?

Truly a man of many schemes.

Cheng Ruan felt a wave of internal disdain for Luo Mingzhi, but he got down to business. “Today, we learned from Teacher Sun Yiliang that someone else had approached him besides my people.”

“But it wasn’t for a collaboration; it was a threat.”

Luo Mingzhi raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to continue.

Cheng Ruan asked, “Aren’t you going to guess who it is?”

Luo Mingzhi asked back, “Is there a reward for guessing correctly?”

“…” Cheng Ruan finally understood how Wu Zhou felt when he tried to be mysterious.

It really was quite dull.

Cheng Ruan said, “It’s President Cui.”

Luo Mingzhi’s expression didn’t change at all.

“I find it so strange,” Cheng Ruan continued, ignoring Luo Mingzhi’s lack of reaction. “He’s a major investor himself. Obstructing the construction of the Intangible Cultural Heritage District—what good does that do him?”

Luo Mingzhi looked down. “It does you no good.”

The words hit Cheng Ruan like a sudden revelation.

Cheng Ruan asked, “Are you saying… he’s doing it for Cheng Jin?”

Luo Mingzhi didn’t deny it, saying slowly, “Cheng Jin is his son-in-law and has always wanted a piece of the Cheng family’s pie. If the project you’re in charge of runs into trouble, Cheng Jin can naturally use it as a pretext to make a move.”

Cheng Ruan smiled forcedly. “To hurt ten thousand of the enemy at the cost of eight thousand of his own—that’s quite the calculation.”

Luo Mingzhi said indifferently, “His only daughter has set her sights on Cheng Jin. Even if the guy is an illegitimate son, she has no choice. Besides, if Cheng Jin really gets his hands on the Cheng family, it would be a welcome surprise for them.”

Cheng Ruan gave a cold laugh. “Then we’ll just wait and see who’s afraid of whom.”

Luo Mingzhi stood up and leaned toward him, raising his hand. “You really don’t need to worry.”

Seeing Luo Mingzhi raise his hand, Cheng Ruan instinctively reached out to block him. “What are you doing?”

Luo Mingzhi’s hands bypassed Cheng Ruan’s neck, his fingertips brushing against his skin.

Cheng Ruan felt the hood behind him being meticulously straightened out. He froze on the spot, not daring to even breathe.

Wha—what are you doing?!

His face turned red at a visible speed. Once Luo Mingzhi withdrew his hand, Cheng Ruan said, “You can just remind me next time, you don’t have to do it yourself.”

Luo Mingzhi stared at Cheng Ruan’s reddened earlobes and fuzzy head, stating calmly, “My apologies. Obsessive-compulsive disorder.”

Cheng Ruan thought back to Luo Mingzhi’s “actions” in bed and gained a more concrete understanding of what he meant by “OCD.”

For instance, insisting that every side—front, back, left, and right—be treated equally. That was indeed very OCD.

Cheng Ruan sat back a bit to keep some distance from Luo Mingzhi. “Uh, it’s late. Hurry up and wash up for bed!”

The phone in his loungewear pocket vibrated. Cheng Ruan pulled it out and saw it was Wu Zhou, who had been “missing in action” all day.

Cheng Ruan took the opportunity to make an excuse to leave. He pointed to his phone to signal Luo Mingzhi, answered the call, and turned toward the bedroom.

“Wait a moment,” Luo Mingzhi called out to him.

Cheng Ruan turned back with the phone in his hand and saw Luo Mingzhi handing him a photo that had drifted onto the sofa.

Cheng Ruan’s eyes widened in disbelief. He felt his pocket, then looked at the photo in Luo Mingzhi’s hand, unable to believe lightning had struck twice.

Luo Mingzhi shattered his denial: “It fell out of your pocket.”

Cheng Ruan took the photo with trembling fingers and walked silently back to his bedroom, every step feeling like he was walking on knife edges.

Wu Zhou was still on the other end asking anxiously, “Xiao Ruan, why aren’t you talking? Where are you? I’m coming to seek refuge with you—”

Cheng Ruan sat on the bed and covered his face in despair.

“I might be kicked out of the Luo family soon myself. Let’s just seek refuge with each other, Wu Zhou.”

Wu Zhou clung to Cheng Ruan, weeping. “President Cheng, you have to stand up for me—”

Cheng Ruan looked at Wu Zhou, who was hanging on him like a koala, with a complicated expression. He patted his back to signal him to get off.

Wu Zhou’s hand gripped Cheng Ruan’s hem. “No, Cheng Xiao Ruan—don’t leave me!”

Cheng Ruan struggled to stand up and poured him a glass of water under Wu Zhou’s gaze. “What happened? No news from you all day, then you suddenly call in the middle of the night saying you’re coming over.”

“Could it be…” Cheng Ruan remembered that drunken night and asked tentatively, “Your former brother-in-law?”

Wu Zhou was like a firecracker right now. “Dammit! I’m going to fight him! Gu Lin is a total pervert!”

Cheng Ruan found it hard to imagine. “Uh, what did he do to you?”

“He kissed me!” Cheng Ruan covered his own mouth, then wiped it in disgust. “He actually kissed me!”

The glass in Cheng Ruan’s hand almost hit the floor. He asked out of pure ignorance, “Isn’t he your… former brother-in-law?”

“The problem is the word ‘former’.” Wu Zhou had an expression like the ‘Elderly Man on the Subway’ meme. “He and my sister were in an arranged marriage; they didn’t even live together. Now that they’re divorced, he’s even more reckless.”

Cheng Ruan originally felt quite sympathetic toward Wu Zhou, but he had never seen Wu Zhou look so resentful. He couldn’t help but let out a “pfft” and laughed.

Wu Zhou snapped, “What are you laughing at!”

“Sorry, Wu Zhou.” Cheng Ruan tried hard to press his lips together. “It turns out your ‘jinx’ mouth finally came true on yourself.”

“Don’t mention it.” Wu Zhou shook his head in agony. “I finally understand what it means for words to have power. From now on, I will definitely be careful with what I say.”

“By the way,” Wu Zhou suddenly remembered. “What about you? Luo Mingzhi is kicking you out?”

Cheng Ruan’s blood pressure rose again. He sat beside Wu Zhou, mirroring his forehead-holding gesture. “He hasn’t kicked me out yet, but I reckon it’s only a matter of time. So, I’ve pre-emptively kicked myself out.”

Under Wu Zhou’s puzzled gaze, Cheng Ruan said, “I got photos of Luo Mingzhi eating with another man.”

“Oh my?” Wu Zhou quickly grabbed a bag of chips from the coffee table and ripped it open. “Let’s see?”

“…” Cheng Ruan silently took the photos from his pocket and laid them on the table. One of the photos had a faint footprint on it.

Wu Zhou gave a click of his tongue, handed a chip to Cheng Ruan, and studied them back and forth. “I have to say, this ‘little third’ is quite delicate-looking. Even picking up food for him, how thoughtful.”

Cheng Ruan asked, “What if I’m the third wheel?”

“Impossible! Even if you snatched him away, Luo Mingzhi allowed it. You’re the legal spouse, okay?” Wu Zhou stared intently at the man in the photo, then suddenly realized something. “Wait, why does this guy look so familiar?”

Wu Zhou scratched his head frantically trying to remember. “Ah!”

Cheng Ruan got a bit nervous. “You remembered who it is?”

Wu Zhou shook his head. “No.”

Cheng Ruan: “…” Then why did you scream “Ah” with such a look of sudden enlightenment?

“Don’t worry, Xiao Ruan.” Wu Zhou thought Cheng Ruan was sad because of the photos and comforted him, “Luo Mingzhi really has no self-respect. I will definitely help you denounce him!”

“You should worry about yourself first.” Cheng Ruan looked at the struggling Wu Zhou and stretched casually. “He can play however he wants; that’s his freedom. I said I wouldn’t interfere as long as it doesn’t affect our cooperation.”

Wu Zhou gave a thumbs up. “Able to pick it up and put it down—truly a role model for our generation!”

“But tell me, you left in the middle of the night and brought me to your place. What if Luo Mingzhi finds out you’re gone tomorrow morning?”

Asked by Wu Zhou, Cheng Ruan pointed confidently at his phone. “I just sent Luo Mingzhi a WeChat message. I doubt he’ll say anything.”

“But…” Looking at Cheng Ruan’s screen, which was flashing with red and green buttons, Wu Zhou whispered a doubt.

“Are you sure you ‘sent’ a WeChat, and didn’t ‘make’ a WeChat call?”

A chill ran down Cheng Ruan’s spine. He picked up his phone in a panic. On the transparent black background, three small boxes were floating, and the name “Luo Mingzhi” was displayed prominently at the top.

Looking at the call duration—great, it had been forty minutes.

The living room fell into a deathly silence.

Cheng Ruan quickly said into the phone, “Sorry, misdialed,” and immediately hung up with a pounding heart. Even after hanging up, his heart was still thumping. His mouth slumped down instantly, looking like he was about to cry.

He looked at Wu Zhou with a face like ash. “Wu Zhou… tell me, which will come first: tomorrow or the end of the world?”